Asking shops for discounts?

I would like a new Specialized Chisel FS frame, they’re just launched at £1,400. Is it reasonable to just come out and ask if they could offer a discount, maybe 10% if you paid in full there and then? Multiple shops all selling the same produce, or no chance being Specialized and just launched ?

Don’t ask, don’t get.

Be polite. If they say no, just accept it.

Remember that shops need to make enough profit to survive and serve our needs going forwards.

Reasonable, no.

in the current climate of shop closures. I dread to think how small the margin is for a shop on a Specialised bike/frame

Inevitable, yes

Very cheeky on a brand new just launched frame. If it was 12 months on then yes, acceptable

More likely they’ll be able to throw something in if you pay the full price. Eg. one of the components you might need: headset, bb etc.

I would, and have asked, on an old stock model.
As RD says, in current climate for LBS’s and on a new model, I don’t think I would ask for a cash discount. Of the few new bikes I’ve bought in LBS’s, they’ve always offered a wee sweetener like £30/£50 credit to spend in store.

How good a relationship do you have with them?

My last LBS in the UK i was spending several grand a year on clothing, shoes, nutrition stuff, consumables and components/spares.

So asking for a bit off, or rounding down to the nearest “reasonable” amount was the norm. Never asked them to match online prices though, i’m not a monster.

Current LBS i’ve probably not spent a grand with them in the last 10 years. So i don’t ask for anything. I’d feel embarrassed to.

The other LBS (now gone) was owned by a mate, so i got a bit off, even though i didn’t spend much.

Please dont ask “whats your best price?”

Its the most infuriating thing to hear a customer ask.

I don’t think I’d straight up ask for one, especially on something released last week. Be better waiting for Tredz to have them and a code that works.

You want a shop to go to in real life? You want support if things go wrong with the frame in the warranty period? You may want a shop to get bits from that you need ASAP and can’t wait for postage?

You want £140 from the shop to be able to do this

Please dont ask “whats your best price?”

Its the most infuriating thing to hear a customer ask.

+1
Also variants on “how about a discount for cash?”

No, cos then I have to count the cash, walk to the last bank in town during the 2hrs a week that they’re still open and queue for most of those 2hrs to deposit it.

I wouldn’t be asking for discount on a just-released bike. End of the year, once it’s been sat on the shop floor for ages then maybe but even then you’re more likely to get somewhere by buying some/most of the parts from that shop and see if they’ll build it FOC (for example).

No harm in trying. The way i see it, a shop could get a sale whilst sacrificing a small percentage of profit or they could get no sale sacrificing all the profit. No one wants to see bike shops struggling, but unless you are cash rich, its not like daily life is ‘cheap’ these days. I dont see how anyone could begrudge you for looking to save a few quid.

I’ve had a great price from https://www.jscycleshack.com when i bought my Chisel HT, so it might be worth giving them a shout.

And if you do find someone willing to ‘do a deal’, let us know, as i am sure there are a few that might take up the same offer!

STW group buy….. how much for 5?! 😀

“I haven’t bought a bike in ages, is the price fixed or do you have any flexibility?”

I’d be prepared for a flat “no” on what is likely to be a popular frame though.

No harm in asking.

Ive just bought a new bike Orbea Rise 2025 I was offered 10% off on an £8k bike.

Why shouldnt people ask ? If there are 2 shops selling the same product do they want my business or not?

I tend to go with Tom’s approach

” I really like it but it’s right at the top of my budget and I still need a helmet and some shoes. If you could chuck those in too I’ll take it?”

For clarification: I’m not offering “cash”, just a normal pay in full now via visa. Not a local small shop, considering asking the Specialized dealers. Full RRP can normally be discussed. I would not consider this with a small independent shop.

If you ask for a discount they can say no. It’s a closed question

If you propose a value add deal, like ‘if I take the bike, I’d also love a xxx to go with it so what can you do for me?’ you’ll more likely get a positive answer.

Discount destroys % margin but if you approach it by aiming to increase the retained £ for the store then they’ll maybe be more receptive.

I would not consider this with a small independent shop.

Then pay full price at an independent. They need the cash more than ever.

Then pay full price at an independent. They need the cash more than ever.

They need to be competitive, not a charity case, most of the time they’d be ordering the bike in, assembling and passing over to the customer, this is a frame only, so just passing the box over.

The flip side of that is this is a new frame, nobody seems to offer discount, and price matching would mean you’re going to either have to wait for an offer at some point (flash sales or discounts at shops), or bite the bullet and buy now, and just enjoy having the bike earlier for a little bit more.

Just remember, the likes of Specialized don’t usually do or allow discounts on new releases. Shops/Dealers are usually tied into this.

It’s totally fine to ask for discounts or price matches. Be fair and expect the same from the LBS

Rrp’s are a nonsense.

There’s 2 ways of looking at this…

It has just been released and is likely to be quite in demand, so the shop doesn’t really need to discount it to sell it I suspect. If you have a good relationship with the shop already then asking for 10% discount if you pay in full, cleared funds then and there perhaps isn’t entirely unreasonable, but don’t expect it.

Or… You could buy it on a C2W scheme (most of which cost the shop 10% anyway, the Halfords C2W scheme costs an IBD 15%!) or you could buy it on interest free finance which they also offer usually (12 months typically costs 7.5%, 24 months 12.5%, 36 months 17.5% from memory with V12 Finance). Tax implications of buying on C2W scheme are very beneficial especially if you’re a higher rate income tax payer don’t forget! But even if you bought on 0% APR, whist you haven’t saved the 10% off the price, current BoE interest rate is 5.25% which compounded over 2 or 3 years means that £1260 in your account would become more than £1400 over 2 or 3yrs anyway if you had it in a high interest savings account, so still better than you paying there and then in full cleared funds for yourself…

As a former bike shop owner I used to dread these conversations, because they were sadly inevitable… I would have MUCH rather given away 10% on every purchase like this if it was full cleared funds and a nice smooth easy transaction, than the nightmare of C2W schemes (that always delay payments too) taking their cut and/or finance companies taking even more… Counter intuitive as it might sound, I actually used to thank the customer for asking the question because crazy as that sounds, at least it gave me the chance to make the sale even if I was discounting it, rather than them not asking and hence not buying from me but going elsewhere that was more ready to discount…

I am VERY glad I don’t have a bike shop any more…

So, from my time working in retail – the importer will make 50%.  The retailer will make 20-25% if they sell at RRP.  They rarely do that  in a competitive market.  Some retailers were prepared to make 2-3%.

The mark up on accessories was much higher.

I’d suggest paying the asking price but seeing if they can throw in some accessories FOC.  Last time i bought a new bike i think it got £200 worth of credit to spend in the shop.

From your boss – want a 10% paycut.  You’re pretty replacable .. hows that work for you?

“Just remember, the likes of Specialized don’t usually do or allow discounts on new releases. Shops/Dealers are usually tied into this.”

How would they do that, isn’t that against the law?

Yes totally reasonable to ask for a discount – they need to be competitive just like any other business (people ask and get discounts all the time in my line of work – telecoms). I never really understand the margins are tight so it’s unfair on the shop etc line – costs are tight for most people as well. The shop can obviously say no, and if they are already price competitive or can differentiate themselves on some other basis (e.g. service) then they’ll still get the trade. If they’re not price competitive and / or only offer average service then why would you give them the trade?

How would they do that, isn’t that against the law?

Yep, but they don’t have to sell to you again, or give you the same terms on more if they know you discounted the last lot.

10% off RRP is likely 25-30% of the shop’s profit. If you don’t already have a relationship with them, what’s your USP? Why do they want you as a customer?

Please dont ask “whats your best price?”

I always ask this in Tesco. Not got anything off yet.

I always ask this in Tesco. Not got anything off yet.

Well yes, there are plenty of discount schemes that will get you a discount at Tesco. Many work places run loyalty card that get you 5% etc, club cards etc. So there’s plenty of ways around paying full RRP.

From your boss – want a 10% paycut.  You’re pretty replacable .. hows that work for you?

That’s kind of how it does work, but in a different way. You negotiate a wage at job offer. Often it’s the case the company won’t pay the amount you initially ask for, they will say “were only willing to pay xxx”, every thing can be agreed.

This is a mass produced product, made in Taiwan, the dealership didn’t design it, they are unlikely to have engineering input, they didn’t make it, they didn’t paint it… the dealerships are simply a sales out let, similar to a car dealership. I bet the people pouring scorn on this would happily go and try and negotiate with a car dealership.

p.s I suspect Specialized will never agree a discount on a new product. The question is more general.

Have you gone and asked yet?

Do update us once you have, thanks.

Best way to approach the discount is simply say you are currently looking at options and pricing with various shops. It’s finding the balance of acting like a serious buyer but not 100% committed to buying on the day there and then.

Most sales people will get this hint and proactively offer.

If you know the shop and/or are more proactive and direct on your haggling you can just straight up ask.

Negotiations if over the phone rather than in person should be direct too and straight up ask for best price.

Getting discounts on bikes/frames/forks is pretty easy. Components however, it’s much harder from independents unless they are the competitive ones.

“10% off RRP is likely 25-30% of the shop’s profit. If you don’t already have a relationship with them, what’s your USP? Why do they want you as a customer?”

So they make a sale which still has profit instead of the buyer going elsewhere so they make no sale or profit?

I phoned a well known big Specialized dealer and asked the question…. They can’t order the frame until October for a start. They seemed fine with the question of if they could offer a discount if I paid today, considering they didn’t hold the stock for many months, but the answer was a definite no, full RRP or nothing…. so it was nothing and I will look at other options.

I’ve asked in the past if something was offered with 0% credit.

When told yes, I’ve responded that I don’t need the 0% and would happily do cash or credit card if that was a better deal.

Amazing how often that gets 10% offered to you.

No harm in asking, but I tend to only ask if I’m intending to buy. I don’t tend to ask and hope for a discounted price to them make me decide if I buy or not.

Shops aren’t charities (I’d argue even charity shops aren’t charities as they still pay bills), so I’m happy to ask but don’t expect anything, they have to make a living. If I manage to get some money off them all good, but it doesn’t tend to stop me buying as I’ve already decided I want to buy the item.

No harm in asking, but I tend to only ask if I’m intending to buy. I don’t tend to ask and hope for a discounted price to them make me decide if I buy or not.

What about if you’re trying to decide between two or three bikes of similar spec and the price might be the thing that decides it?

Out of curiosity, where are you seeing the Chisel FS for sale?

Out of curiosity, where are you seeing the Chisel FS for sale?

Seems full builds are commonly available, frame only are a few months ago. Full builds available on Specialized, Certini, Tredz, Rutland etc